


Short

by the_ghostwriter96



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Animals, Fluff, Friendship, Garnet/Peridot if you squint, I love how short Peridot is, I ship it but this is pretty generic and not shippy, Zoo, just cute imo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-28 05:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10074545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_ghostwriter96/pseuds/the_ghostwriter96
Summary: Garnet smiled down at her, if just barely, sunlight glinting off her visor.  “I’m going to lift you, okay?”“Uh,”--They go to the zoo.  That's all.  Just a drabble somewhere in their timeline when Lapis is still newish.





	

“Why would _anyone_ enjoy this?” Lapis asked, and when Peridot looked at her she wasn’t surprised to see her shoulders tense, expression contorted into one of unease.   Peridot was glad that, at the very least, she wasn’t the only one confused by the point of this.

 

Greg held Steven on his shoulders so that he could see over the rails and into enclosures while Peridot stretched on her toes (and occasionally jumped, though she’d be hard-pressed to admit it and it was only as the others began to walk away). So far she had seen elephants- giant, terrifying creatures- and giraffes- giant, terrifying creatures. The whole place smelled bad and it was crowded and noisy, and it absolutely wasn’t made for small humans (or gems) despite there being so many there.

 

“Well,” Steven started, slowly, crossing his arms over the top of Greg’s bald head.   “Maybe… Because they’re cute!”

 

“Cute?” Peridot deadpanned. They were _not_ cute. Steven was almost the same size, _how_ could he find them _cute_? These animals could easily crush any one of them, or tear them to pieces or sing their giant teeth into them and-

 

“Yeah!” Steven exclaimed, beaming down at her as though she’d been agreeing with him.   (She hadn’t.) “They’re cute. Did you see the gorillas smiling at us?”

 

“Oh, Steven.” Pearl sighed, pulling her focused gaze from the enclosure before them.   “They’re not _smiling_.   Bearing their teeth is an act of aggression, not-”

 

“Oh, come on, Pearl!” Amethyst elbowed the skinnier gem, smirking up at her.   “They’re so smiling. We should go back and see if they wanna be friends!”   And at Pearl’s disapproving frown, she fell into giggles.

 

“They’re just… _locked up_ in here. What’s the point?” Lapis clutched onto the rail, looking out at whatever animals they’d gotten to.

 

“A lot of these animals are endangered.” Greg stepped in to explain. “Keeping them in zoos means they get to survive. Buying tickets gives the zoo money to take care of the animals.”

 

Lapis blinked, silent as she thought over what Greg had said and Peridot wished they’d hurry up so that she could jump up and see what the fuss was about. The sun was beating down on them all, and they’d been walking for almost an hour just to look at caged animals? They saw birds every day, dogs sometimes, why were these special- aside from being bigger?

 

“Peridot,” Garnet’s voice pulled the smaller gem from her pity-party. “Would you like to see them?”

 

Peridot scoffed, crossing her arms and pleading to the world that her face wasn’t as dark as it was warm. “Are you kidding? This is pointless.”

 

Garnet smiled down at her, if just barely, sunlight glinting off her visor. “I’m going to lift you, okay?”

 

“Uh,” Peridot braced herself, trusting enough that Garnet wouldn’t lift her over the railing but not exactly looking forward to being dangled in the air, either way- but then hands on her shoulders turned her around, and then hands on her waist lifted her up through the air and…

 

She was standing on Garnet’s shoulders. One foot on each, arms over the top of her hair and now she _was_ tall enough to see into the enclosure (of scary, very large lizards with sharp teeth). Alligators, so the sign read, but she couldn’t focus on the feat she _should_ be feeling at being stuck on a planet with those _things_. No, her focus was on the fact that she was taller than _everyone_.

 

Her face went from warm to hot as she held onto Garnet’s hair best she could, fighting the smile that threatened her lips.   Amethyst was laughing at her, and if Peridot were petty (okay, or if she wasn’t too embarrassed to properly organize her thoughts) she’d remind her that she was just as short and that she could only see because she’d transformed to be taller.

 

Steven let out a laugh, waving. “Now you’re here, too!” He said, as though she’d actually gone somewhere different.

 

“Better?” Garnet asked, tilting her head back like she could actually see Peridot.

 

“Yes.” The small gem gritted out, embarrassed both at the fact that she, like Steven, needed the boost at all, and the fact that she very much enjoyed being up there.

 

“Good.”

 

She cleared her throat. “Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome,”

 

And they went on to the next exhibit with Peridot and Steven on their designated shoulders, Pearl reading the informational signs intensely, Amethyst imitating the animals as they came by them, and it was _fun_.


End file.
